Are Conservatives Born or Made?

Your parents made you liberal or
conservative--but not necessarily with their dinner-table political rants. Apparently, it
might be in your DNA. Conservatives have brains with bigger
amygdalas--the part of the brain associated with fear--and a smaller
anterior cingulate--the area of the brain associated with bravery and
optimism, a new British study finds. Whether that means people are born
with brains wired for a particular ideology or if experience shapes your
mental hardware remains unclear, as the researchers only looked at
adults.

Scientists at University College London looked at brain
scans of 90 students, plus two politicians, and asked them about their
political views, the Telegraph's Richard Alleyne
reports. The findings echo earlier findings of a "liberal gene," which
correlates with liberal politics and thrill seeking. Earlier this
year, a University of Nebraska study, noted by The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof,
found that "some humans are particularly alert to threats, particularly
primed to feel vulnerable and perceive danger. Those people are more
likely to be conservatives." People who had strong blink reflexes when
startled by bright lights or loud sounds were more likely to favor gun
rights, the study said.

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.